Another reason...

Got a frantic call from my brother this morning and he asked me to bring one of my guns over. He always gave me crap for having so many guns, so I asked why and he told me someone broke into his car and into his house while he, his wife and two little girls slept upstairs.

Nobody got hurt, but easily could have. I gave him 4 or 5 choices and he chose my .357 mag just because there's not much to learn...point and shoot! Even his wife who despises guns was wanting the gun in the house now.

He asked me to go gun shopping with him this weekend.

My point is, ya just never know. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

Nobody was woken up and they didn't find out until this morning. What's crazy is, they have a dog (min-pin) that barks at everything and she never heard a thing either. The live in a very nice neighborhood and even in a cul-de-sac. Crazy that could happen, but now at least he's prepared to defend/protect his family in the future.

...I gave him 4 or 5 choices and he chose my .357 mag just because there's not much to learn...

...but now at least he's prepared to defend/protect his family in the future.

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Not to pick on you, he and the family--I'm a noob myself--but I'm seriously interested in this as a discussion topic.

I'm thinking 'has a gun' and 'is prepared' are two different things. I'm moving (glacially) towards a bedside firearm, but am not comfortable just taking it in one big step, and we don't even have kids in the house. Wife was initially on-board with moving towards a better armed stance, but we haven't talked about it in a while, in part because I suspect she's grown cold feet over the idea. (She joined TCGC with me, but has so far declined to come practice.) Instead, I'm quietly continuing to prepare myself.

"Honey, why's there a machete under the bed?"
"Because I'm not comfortable deploying the pistol yet?"

I figure the machete has about the same reach as a bat and will leave a mark that's harder to explain at the emergency room if someone takes a whack from me and can still run. Get two, they're cheap...

Not to pick on you, he and the family--I'm a noob myself--but I'm seriously interested in this as a discussion topic.

I'm thinking 'has a gun' and 'is prepared' are two different things. I'm moving (glacially) towards a bedside firearm, but am not comfortable just taking it in one big step, and we don't even have kids in the house. Wife was initially on-board with moving towards a better armed stance, but we haven't talked about it in a while, in part because I suspect she's grown cold feet over the idea. (She joined TCGC with me, but has so far declined to come practice.) Instead, I'm quietly continuing to prepare myself.

"Honey, why's there a machete under the bed?"
"Because I'm not comfortable deploying the pistol yet?"

I figure the machete has about the same reach as a bat and will leave a mark that's harder to explain at the emergency room if someone takes a whack from me and can still run. Get two, they're cheap...

Agreed, having a gun in the house doesn't mean you are fully prepared for situations like this. Having a plan in place is key. My brother has been shooting with me 3 or 4 times before, so I feel confident he knows how to handle the gun if necessary. We sat down and talked about what to do if something like this happened again, especially if it's just his wife and daughters home alone.

Having a gun is just part of the preparation process. As for a machete, that is certainly better than nothing, but in my opinion, you would have to get way too close to the perpetrator to actually use it.

Either way, my overall point was to always be ready and have a plan in place.

I know I'm new here, but I've owned a Model 19 .357 for over 10 years...and it's about the last pistol I would recommend to a newbie. Way too much kick, hard to be accurate with.

I would, believe it or not, recommend the good old 1911. Three or four hours training with it and you are good to go for an intruder. Plus, the thing is so pleasant to shoot compared to a .357, you'll be putting in hundreds more hours of shooting time as you can afford it...

Not knocking the .357, I wouldn't own one if I didn't like it. But it's just not a beginners' round. Tell him to keep it loaded with 38 specials...those are plenty deadly and super easy to hit with.

Good to hear your brother is making the step to be able to defend his family. You have it get him to go to the range more often so he is comfrontable shooting.

A 357 revolver is a fine first choice, easy to operate and can be loaded with 38 spl rounds that don't kick any more than a 9mm. Sounds like your already on it but the other part is a plan for a bump in the night.

I know I'm new here, but I've owned a Model 19 .357 for over 10 years...and it's about the last pistol I would recommend to a newbie. Way too much kick, hard to be accurate with.

I would, believe it or not, recommend the good old 1911. Three or four hours training with it and you are good to go for an intruder. Plus, the thing is so pleasant to shoot compared to a .357, you'll be putting in hundreds more hours of shooting time as you can afford it...

Not knocking the .357, I wouldn't own one if I didn't like it. But it's just not a beginners' round. Tell him to keep it loaded with 38 specials...those are plenty deadly and super easy to hit with.

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I respectfully disagree.

I have owned handguns for 20 years, and I still would not choose a 1911.

Its a great gun, but under the effects of stress and adrenaline it is all too easy to either (a) forget to take the safety off or (b) forget to put it back on again, which results in a cocked weapon being waved around by someone who is not operating at 100% mental efficiency.

IMHO, only a highly trained and experienced individual...for whom the process of activating and deactivating the safety is automatic... should rely on a 1911 for self-defense. The 1911 is far less forgiving of human error than a revolver.

As far as recoil goes, a full-sized revolver with decent grips should do an adequate job of taming the recoil of Magnum loads. And there is nothing wrong with a decent .38+p JHP either.

Well, I should have said there is one condition. I owned Tokarevs long before I had a 1911. Those have no thumb safety, and you can't trust the import safeties on those anyway.

So I really don't like messing with the 1911 safety too much. It's either "on" or "off" for me...I can chamber a round with the hammer cocked and the chamber empty in a fraction of a second. When it's time to store the weapon, eject the mag, eject the round, lower hammer, re-insert loaded magazine into 1911, and don't chamber a round until you need to.

But that's just my crazy paranoid habit, developed from years of handling TT33s....

I know I'm new here, but I've owned a Model 19 .357 for over 10 years...and it's about the last pistol I would recommend to a newbie. Way too much kick, hard to be accurate with.

I would, believe it or not, recommend the good old 1911. Three or four hours training with it and you are good to go for an intruder. Plus, the thing is so pleasant to shoot compared to a .357, you'll be putting in hundreds more hours of shooting time as you can afford it...

Not knocking the .357, I wouldn't own one if I didn't like it. But it's just not a beginners' round. Tell him to keep it loaded with 38 specials...those are plenty deadly and super easy to hit with.

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I hate it when I sound like a dickhead, but Seano I respectfully disagree. I was 8 yrs old when I shot my first .357 mag. Not sure your weight or stature, but I've never had a problem shooting any caliber of gun. Not trying to sound like a tough guy at all, but come on give me a break. Seriously, I really don't know what you are talking about what so ever. Beginners round? I guess that's different for everyone. My wife handles the .357 like it's nothing. "hundreds of hours of shooting" honestly, that's a joke. I'm 6'2 215 lbs and my brother is around the same size. I'd rather shoot a rubber band gun than 38 special at an intruder.

I know I'm sounding like a dickhead, but grow some damn balls and don't tell other people what they should be handling for caliber size. I shoot with many people of all sizes and I've never seen anyone struggle with a 357. Don't know what to tell you.

I have a .357 Ruger. I believe that if it is loaded with Hornady .38 Special Critical Defense ammo, it makes for a perfect home defense handgun. Less noise, less danger of over-penetration of my walls (or the neighbors), and less recoil, which may help to achieve better accuracy. I don't have any problem shooting it with full power .357 Magnum loads either. My favorite handgun caliber.

i love how threads like this disintegrate into what gun or caliber is best. The fact is the best gun is the one the brother is comfortable with, can hit accurately, and will shoot if need be.

It could be a .22, up to a .50 BMG. anything is better then nothing, and no one needs extra holes in them. a .22 to the heart or head is a man stopper.

I guess i just don't see the point in going into the get this or get that discussion. It makes more sense for the person to go shoot as many different models as they can and figure out what is best for them.

OP i am sorry for your brother, i cannot stand thief's, i can only imagine how violated he feels.

Seems to me a gun would not have made a difference as they pillaged at will while they slept.an alarm system would have stopped them but only if everything was locked and closed an alarm was on.It's amazing how these freaks have the balls to enter someones house.They do it during the day while you are at work or at night while you are sleeping.They could have killed everyone in the house while they slept.They should seriously start from the outside and work to the middle.Alarms,locks,a routine of securing premises anytime they leave and sleep.It sucks but a gun won't help unless the perps are discovered and you have the advantage and even then you can still be charged so don't put all your faith in a weapon.I hate thieves more than just about anything.just a thought.oh and it isn't gonna matter what caliber you have,everyone has an opinion on what to use and how to use it.opinions are like A holes,everyone has one..BFD.

Yes, no one was hurt, only because the dog didn't bark.
Does anyone think the bg's would have left if confronted?
Giving you a chance get their tag number.
I think not.
Worse yet, confronted by someone unarmed?

Those bg's knew people were in there and I'm sure were prepared for confrontation.

The best defense is to do the things that make them pick your neighbors house.
Motion activated out-door lighting works great as a deterrent.
Chances are those bg's would have left if a spot-light went on when they approached the car in the driveway.

"Honey, why's there a machete under the bed?"
"Because I'm not comfortable deploying the pistol yet?"

I figure the machete has about the same reach as a bat and will leave a mark that's harder to explain at the emergency room if someone takes a whack from me and can still run. Get two, they're cheap...
MrB

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I have a machete behind my bedroom door, very sharp. Sure a gun may be more affective. However, if you see a shirtless giant coming at you with a machete or a gun which one would make you worry a bit more.

They probably not only knew that people were in there, but probably also knew the people. While stranger-to-stranger crimes do occur, I think a lot of residential burglaries are committed by perps who are in some way familiar w/the victim.

IMHO, only a highly trained and experienced individual...for whom the process of activating and deactivating the safety is automatic... should rely on a 1911 for self-defense. The 1911 is far less forgiving of human error than a revolver.
QUOTE]

You hit the nail on the head, Soberups. Trained!

No handgun will help you, in fact it will get you into trouble, without professional training. Without mental preparation on how to assess what is a life threatening situation, you may shoot when a simple voice command would have sufficed.

Your capacity to think while in an adrenaline rush will be less than usefull, however; if trained properly your response to unlocking a 1911 safety is no problem, it will be automatic.

I either have a G19 or my 1911 at bedside, yes both chambered.

As some have already pointed out, prevention of such an event by the use of spotlights, alarms, etc...is possibly the best defense.

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